U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,798, issued in the name of Matsumoto on Aug. 11, 1987, shows a scraper blade in contact with the surface of a photoreceptive drum and a container for storing toner stripped from the surface of the photoreceptive drum by the scraper blade. A conveyor member moves the stripped toner away from the drum and into the storage container.
A problem with this cleaning apparatus is that it is complex. The conveyor member is actually made up of two members joined at a pivot. A spring is used to urge the two members to rotate about the pivot in a complex pattern. A simpler apparatus is desired.
A further problem with the above cleaning apparatus is that stripped toner will build up near the photoreceptive drum. The conveyor member must be operated continuously while the copying machine is in use or else there will be a buildup of residual toner near the photoreceptive drum.
Another problem with this cleaning apparatus is that the residual toner removed from the drum surface is merely moved to a storage container. The residual toner is fluffy (the toner has a very low density) and, therefore, will quickly fill up the available space in the storage container. Either a large storage container will have to be provided or the storage container will have to be emptied at frequent intervals.